House update: Dem gains slight; Issa squeaking through

It now looks like the Democrats will pick up only 6 or 7 seats in the House. That’s a poor showing. Even in pessimistic scenarios (for them) they were expecting at least a dozen pick-ups.

The low number may prove significant in 2018. It leaves the Dems with more work to do than expected in order to capture the House in that year’s election.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that Rep. Darrell Issa apparently has eeked out a victory in California’s 49th district. Some polls had him behind in the closing stages of the election. However, he now leads by about 4,000 votes (1.2 points) and it seems that all or virtually all of the vote is in.

As head of the House Oversight Committee, Issa spearheaded a number of high profile investigations into Obama administration wrongdoing. I’m glad the Democrats won’t get the satisfaction of unseating him.